


never would have imagined such a life

by SaraJaye



Series: Ever After 'Verse [17]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Against all odds, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anniversary, Breakfast, Cuddling & Snuggling, Former Illness, Growing Old Together, Introspection, M/M, Marriage, Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 20:56:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17926199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Shiro had never planned on having a future at all.





	never would have imagined such a life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatScottishShipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/gifts).



When he learned he was sick, he decided his life's goal was to be the best pilot and explorer he could be before his time was up. Before the disease robbed him of peak condition and eventually his life. He cut ties with his family, tried not to get too close to anyone, broke up with a man who loved him to spare him the pain.

He lived through his capture by the Galra, through countless arena battles, through losing an arm and crash-landing back on Earth.

When Haggar had him closed in by illusions and cut a glowing wound into his side, he thought it was the end. But Keith saved him, followed by Pidge wormholing them back to the ship. He survived, met Ulaz again, learned the secret of the Blade of Marmora.

He died during the battle with Zarkon, only to come back thanks to Allura's power and the strength of Keith's love.

He survived the fight with Sendak. The battle against Honerva to save all of existence. The loss of a dear friend-five friends, to save them all. Black, who'd kept him alive even without a body, protected the person he loved; even after his connection was broken, Black would always be a part of him in a way.

Allura assured him it was for the best that Voltron had sacrificed itself for them. _Because one of us could have died instead._

The day he and Keith adopted their daughter was roughly around the time he would have died if not for his new body.

Ten years, three more kids, a puppy, and more family reunions than he could count later, Shiro glances at himself in the mirror. Ten years disease-free, a pair of reading glasses, and a black streak in his white hair. He looks old, but not so much that it's jarring.

Ten wonderful, beautiful years with the man he loves, surrounded by friends and family.

Keith joins him at the mirror, leaning against him with a smile.

"Happy anniversary."

Shiro pulls him close for a kiss, brushing his fingers along the hair Keith's let grow to his hips and wears in a braid. He swears he'll cut it again someday, but Shiro secretly hopes he never does.

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" he asks. Keith smiles, tucking his head under Shiro's chin.

"Only once this morning." He nestles close, his eyes shiny with joy. "Ten years...last night, I dreamed about the day you crashed by the Garrison. It feels like it was just yesterday."

"I know." Shiro pulls him close, burying his face in his hair. "Back when I was still sick, when I was sure I'd be gone before..." He closes his eyes, brief flashes of Sendak, Honerva, Black's consciousness, the astral plane going through his head. "Some days I was sure I was dreaming everything, that I was in the hospital waiting to die."

"But you're not. You _made_ it, Takashi, every memory we've had since that day is real." Keith's eyes shine with tears, and Shiro leans down to kiss his cheeks.

"I'd never want to be anywhere else."

After another kiss, they head downstairs to the dining room. The kids said they were making a surprise for them, and Shiro tries not to think about how the kitchen must look by now. He smells bacon, coffee, and maple syrup, and hears muffled whispers.

"Happy anniversary!" Not just their kids, Shiro notices, but Emmeline and Alor and Maya. Julie Reynolds, her brothers Leo and Eric, Hunk and Shay's kids Lucca and Mira, various family members via videoscreen. The kids went all out, the table's loaded with food and the dining room's swimming in flowers and banners.

It's a bit much. But for a man who'd expected to be dead by this time, nothing more than a gravestone and a bittersweet memory, today is a day worth celebrating for a thousand reasons.

He just barely manages not to tear up as he's hugged by every kid in the room, followed by Kosmo and Yurak teleporting in to give him kisses and doggie hugs. And later, he and Keith will celebrate by going to _their_ spot to watch the sunset.

"Come on, Daddy, sit down before your knees give out," Athena teases. Shiro rolls hie eyes.

"I'm not even forty yet, little missy."

"And _I'm_ not little anymore. In another year I'll be old enough to vote!" Athena sticks her tongue out, and Keith ruffles her ponytail.

"You kids are growing up too fast," he mock-complains. "Seems like just yesterday we were signing your papers and showing you around the house." Everyone dissolves into playful banter as Julie and Sven serve Keith and Shiro first, and Shiro just sighs contentedly.

Chaos. Kids getting older, even Yurak's found himself a mate.

He's going to be old someday, and he'll embrace it.


End file.
